Friend-in-Deed fundraising falls short of goal

Friend-in-Deed organizers are looking at ways to ensure as many needy families as possible can be served next year amid a $37,000 fundraising shortfall this year.

The charity had raised about $188,000 as of Sunday, well short of its $225,000 goal. Still, more than 2,200 families and individuals received food assistance.

Last year’s goal was also $225,000.

Jim Schaefer, Friend-in-Deed’s vice president and The State Journal-Register’s single-copy sales manager, said he can’t recall the fundraiser ever coming up this short.

“Not this much. I mean, we’ve had years where we’ve come up somewhat short, but at the end, people would help meet the need,” Schaefer said.

He said the charity, in its 53rd year of giving families a boost around the holidays, is still accepting donations until Jan. 4 in hopes of filling the gap. In the meantime, FID will have to dip into its reserve funds to pay for this year’s program and to plan for next year.

“The money we raise this year helps us plan out next year,” Schaefer said. “We have to meet that amount in order to do the same kind of work next year. Otherwise, if we don’t, we won’t have the cash.”

If made Tuesday, donations would be tax deductible on this year’s taxes, he noted.

In years past, if there was extra money, it was donated to Springfield-area families displaced by house fires throughout the year, said Rob Titone, chairman of the Friend-in-Deed board and former circulation director of the SJ-R. The charity will not be able to do that this year, as was the case last year.

He blamed the shortfall, in part, on fewer articles in the SJ-R, noting that in years past, they ran more frequently and on page 1 during the holiday season.

However, he said, there are other reasons for the shortfall.

“It’s always hard to ‘guesstimate’ what folks are going to donate. My gut feeling is that the economy is doing a little better than last year, so I’ve had to lean back and say, ‘OK, what did we do differently? What did folks do differently?’” Titone said. “Were people donating to the tornado (victims) in Washington? Were people donating to other charities?”

Expanding the fundraising season is one solution, Titone said. Typically, Friend-in-Deed pushes for donations from November until early January, he said.

Organizers may consider adding quarterly fundraising events into the mix, similar to the FID golf outing held every September and this year’s addition of the inaugural Ugly Sweater Christmas Party in December.

“Maybe we can do something, whether it’s some kind of ice cream social or other summer party to keep the charity on everyone’s minds,” Titone said. “There’s all kinds of things we could do.”